Friday, May 9, 2014. Chaos and violence continue, Nouri tries to storm
Falluja and fails, a US general is supposed to visit Iraq next week to
talk about US forces and weapons, there's a call for the Iraqi elections
to be declared fraudulent, and much more.

December 2011 saw the drawdown in Iraq. The Pentagon used the term
and only that term. The media ran with "withdrawal." All US troops
never left. Some were transitioned to Kuwait -- where thousands remain.
Some stayed in the country. Ted Koppell was reporting on this -- for
NBC News and NPR -- in December 2011 but it was apparently too much for
most to handle.

While thousands remained inside Iraq -- those who would be 'trainers' on
weapons purchases, CIA, FBI, Special-Ops, etc -- there's been movement
on bringing more in -- in fact more have come but that's been too much
for a whorish 'progressive' community to handle, cope with or even
recognize.

But the nature of the fight the Maliki government confronts
in western Iraq is such that officials say Baghdad is looking not only
for better reconnaissance and surveillance capability, but also for more
robust, lethal platforms. Iraq has been unwilling to accept American
military personnel in the country in any operational form, but the
willingness to revisit that policy appears now to be shifting. A
spokesman for the Iraqi Embassy declined to comment on the issue of
allowing American military personnel into the country to conduct drone
operations, but acknowledged that the U.S. and Iraq share a "common
enemy" in al Qaeda.

"Iraq's view is that all available tools must be utilized to defeat this
threat, and we welcome America's help in enhancing the capabilities we
are able to bring to bear," the spokesman said.

You need to put that with other news because Lubold isn't smart enough
to. There's the fact that all US troops never left Iraq. There's the
fact that Barack sent a brigade of Special-Ops in during the fall of
2012. Tim Arango (New York Times) reported, "Iraq and the United States are negotiating an agreement that could
result in the return of small units of American soldiers to Iraq on
training missions. At the request of the Iraqi government, according to
General Caslen, a unit of Army Special Operations soldiers was recently
deployed to Iraq to advise on counterterrorism and help with
intelligence." And let's include the news from the April 25th snapshot:Mark Hosenball, Warren Strobel, Phil Stewart, Ned Parker, Jason Szep and Ross Colvin (Reuters) report, "The United States is quietly expanding the number of intelligence officers in Iraq
and holding urgent meetings in Washington and Baghdad to find ways to
counter growing violence by Islamic militants, U.S. government sources
said." It was 1961 when US President John F. Kennedy sent 1364
"advisors" into Vietnam. The next year, the number was just short of
10,000. In 1963, the number hit 15,500. You remember how this ends,
right?

QUESTION: Talking about the drones, Foreign
Policy has reported today that Iraqi Government is actively seeking
armed drones from the U.S. to combat al-Qaida in Anbar, and it would
welcome American military drone operators back in the country to target
those militants. Are you in discussions with the Iraqi about having
American troops going back to Iraq with the drones?MS. PSAKI: We are – we have seen, of course, this report. It
does not reflect discussions we are having with the Government of Iraq.
We are not in discussion with the Iraqi Government about the use of
armed, unmanned aerial systems, nor are we considering such options. So
it sounds like they need some better sources on that one.QUESTION: Are you ready to discuss this option in case the Government of Iraq asked for?MS. PSAKI: We’re not in discussion with it, so I’m not going to –
about it, and I’m not going to predict or answer a hypothetical.QUESTION: Is the U.S. discussing the return of any troops to Iraq to help with its ongoing security challenges?MS. PSAKI: You’re familiar with the steps we’ve taken. That’s
what we’re continuing to implement. As you know, we remain deeply
concerned about the increased levels of violence in Iraq and the
situation in Anbar. Our assistance has not been limited to the security
sphere; we’ve worked on a consistent basis to develop a holistic
approach and – with a focus on recruiting local tribal fighters,
insuring resources are reaching areas that need them.We also acknowledge that Iraq will not succeed unless its security
forces are well supplied, trained, and equipped. And as you know in
here, because we’ve talked about it a bit, we’ve also provided
additional assistance, including the delivery of 300 Hellfire missiles,
thousands of rounds of tank ammunition, helicopter-fired rockets,
machine guns, grenades, flares, sniper rifles, M-16s and M-4 rifles. We
also delivered additional Bell IA-407 helicopters late last year, and 10
ScanEagle surveillance platforms. So obviously, our assistance is
expansive. I don’t have anything else to predict for you about the
future, but that’s not something we’re considering, no.QUESTION: Has the U.S. expedited the delivery of F-16 to Iraq?MS. PSAKI: We have talked about that a little bit in here in the
past. I don’t think I have any additional specific update for you today.

Who's doing this talking? One person is said to be gearing up for talks. Dar Addustour reports that US Gen Lloyd Austin is expected to visit Iraq next week and meet with Nouri to discuss weapons and US forces.

The article also notes Stuart Jones. The White House has yet to
announce US Ambassador to Iraq Robert S. Beecroft is going to become the
new Ambassador to Egypt. That has been reported and Laura Rozen was
the first on it (weeks ago) and it's pretty much a given. Stuart Jones
is who Barack would like to replace Beecroft with.

Some in the Iraqi press are confused on this and I don't mean that as a
slam. There are many process issues I get wrong on Iraq and people
kindly call and e-mail to let me know that. US President Barack Obama
may name Stuart Jones as the nominee for US Ambassador to Iraq. That
doesn't mean Jones becomes it. Just as Nouri can only nominate people
to serve in his Cabinet and requires Parliament to actually make someone
a Cabinet Minister, Barack requires the US Senate's support. They did
not give it -- and would not -- to Brett McGurk which is why Barack had
to find a different nominee (Beecroft). All Iraq News offers a bio of Stuart Jones here.

Kitabat reports
the proposed nomination comes a dangerous time for Iraq, when people
speak of civil war as a real possibility in Iraq's near future and
reminds that in their last meeting (November 1, 2013),
Barack told Nouri al-Maliki that Iraq needed the participation of all
the blocs in the decision-making process and that the attempts to
marginalize the Sunnis and the Kurds needed to cease.

He also bragged, "There was not a single security incident in Baghdad."
Why would there be? Not only were the usual checkpoints maintained,
additionals ones were added in Baghdad. Traffic was banned. Stores
were forced to close. Baghdad was a ghost town.

#Iraq election commission says 20% of ballots counted so far; at this rate, two weeks before fully counted

Supposedly, the Independent High Electoral Commission will announce
results May 25th (though they've noted the vast amount of complaints
regarding irregularities and alleged violations could push the
announcement back). We're not interested in covering leaks or alleged
leaks on vote totals. The leaks of 2010? They were false. There's no
reason to believe that the leaks four years later aren't false as well.

For those who just can't seem to let these illusions go, we'll note Ned
Parker's Tweet from earlier this week (Ned Parker is now with Reuters):

False is also supposed to be rumors that Nouri al-Maliki has made a
secret visit to Tehran to plead with Iranian officials for them to back
him for a third term as Iraq's prime minister. Trend News Agency quotes
Iran's Deputy Foriegn Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian stating, "Mr.
Maliki . . . is the highest-ranking official in Iraq. His visits to the
Islamic Republic of Iran have always been official and public. No
confidential visit has been made to Tehran by Mr. Maliki and any
[future] visit will take place within official and legal framework."

Kitabat reports
that Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi met with US Ambassador to
Iraq Robert Stephen Beecroft today in Baghdad and complained about what
is being seen as fraudlent ballot boxes. The two are said to have
discussed the large number of reported violations and that some voting
centers did not open their doors. (On the latter, there have been
reports that voting centers in Sunni majority districts turned away all
voters for over half the day -- often with the orders coming from
Nouri's military -- and when this was reported to the IHEC, the centers
that were supposed to open in the morning managed to open by mid-day.
al-Nujaifi has been among those making that complaint publicly so it is
likely that he would bring that issue up to Beecroft in a face-to-face.)
Struan Stevenson is the President of the European Parliament's Delegation for Relations with Iraq and he writes at The Hill about the elections:

Now Ayad Allawi, leader of al Iraqiya, has said that 2 million ballot
papers are missing, raising deep suspicions that major electoral fraud
has taken place. News that all Iraqi police and army personnel were
issued with two ballot papers each, one in their camps and the other
sent to their homes, has compounded fears that the election was rigged.[. . .]The UN, US and EU should intervene and declare
that this was not a free and fair election. They must not stand back and
wash their hands of this affair. The people of Iraq have suffered
enough. They need a democratic election that will provide them with a
government that can restore freedom, democracy, justice, human rights
and women's rights to Iraq. Four more years of corrupt dictatorship by
Maliki will be in no-one's interest.

“I was
attacked by a group of PUK supporters who were in a public uniform and
stood in front of Gojar School polling station in Ranya. I had the
official IHEC badge and was officially allowed to cover the voting
process for Iraq Oil Report, a leading foreign organization that
provides business, political and security news and analysis on Iraq‌."
Muhammed A. Ahmed, a freelance journalist who covered the elections for
Iraq Oil Report.

“I took
my camera out to take a picture of the school when I heard someone say,
"take him; he is recording." Around 30 to 40 people came to me and
violently grabbed my camera. One of them had a knife. Many of them were
recognized PUK intelligence members and Peshmarga. Asaysh intervened.
However, instead of detaining these people who were unlawfully stood
there to threaten people, Asaysh detained me and deleted my photos.”
Ahmed charged.

“We
were taking food and drink to the staff and observers but the PUK forces
hit my head with a revolver,” a Gorran‌'s observer who is badly wounded
told KNNC correspondent on the scene.

“We as
the observers of the political entities having been allowed officially
by the IHEC, took food and drink to the staff and workers, but the PUK
forces wearing casual clothes harassed and attacked us” Chya Khdir,
observer of the election, told KNNC.

Iraq Times reports
MP Hussein Sharifi, with the Sadr bloc, declared again today that the
Sadr position is no on a third term as prime minister for Nouri
al-Maliki. State of Law is Nouri's coalition. Iraq Times reports
State of Law MP Ihsan al-Awadi insisted today that State of Law will
not allow Speaker of Parliament al-Nujaifi to hold any position in the
next government.

Mohammed Sabah (Al Mada) reports
that the leader of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq Ammar al-Hakim
met today with cleric and movement leader Moqtada al-Sadr and how they
state that the prime minister is not shielded from the rule of law and
that they oppose Nouri being given a third term. They dismiss Nouri's
claims of forming a government and note that no one bloc or party is
expected to have won enough seats in the Parliament to form a government
on its own so Iraq will need a power-sharing government and the prime
minister will be selected by Shi'ites, by Sunnis and by Kurds. Mushreq Abbas (Al-Monitor) explains that "the movements of Sadr and Hakim have been clearly trying, since the
provincial elections in 2013, to find a balance among the Shiite forces’
alliance to face Maliki’s rise that is happening at their expense in
the Shiite street." And Hamza Mustafa (Asharq Al-Awsat) adds, "Both the Sadrist Movement and the ISCI were highly critical of the prime
minister during his second term in office, particularly over his
security record. They are now trying to block the coalition endorsing
his premiership."

By 2006 the SCIRI had morphed into ISCI and then Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim
died ‎of cancer in 2009. Ammar al-Hakim took on the leadership of ISCI
and a new chapter was born. Hakim the younger had seen the influence of
the party wane and sought to reverse that trend. He reached out to all
political players and began to change the image of ISCI and build
alliances with other religious Shia groups, including traditional rivals
like the Sadrists led by cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.In many ways
Hakim has the perfect credentials. He has a religious law background and
studied in seminaries in Iran where he became a Sayyid or cleric. It's a
powerful title which gives him religious authority. He's also from a
well-known family. Generations of Hakims have been involved in politics
and religion.Hakim also has an almost mythical status among his
supporters. ‎One Iraqi I asked, Mahmoud, who lives in Baghdad, said:
"Hakim is a man who commands respect. He isn't a dirty politician, he is
a man of God and he shows us the right path for Iraq. He is our bridge,
our guiding light."Hakim's style of leadership is also winning
him support in the international arena. One Western diplomatic source
said: "Hakim is inclusive. He reached out to the youth, to women and
that's impressed us. He isn't just talk."Others agree. I asked
one European diplomat what her embassy thought of Hakim. "We love him"
was her reply. Clearly it was meant as a light-hearted comment but in
all seriousness it's very difficult to find open critics of Hakim who
aren't political rivals or driven by sectarian rage.Hakim is a
smart operator and under his leadership he has rebuilt ISCI into a very
influential and powerful organisation. Before last month's elections he
launched the citizen coalition with a simple and clear message that Iraq
needs reform, both country-wide and throughout government. Many
politicians flocked to his call and his bloc is very powerful. So then,
why is this young, charismatic and well respected ‎man not the leader of
Iraq?

Nouri al-Maliki's four months of killing civilians in Falluja in what is
collective punishment (a legally defined War Crime) gets far less
attention. Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) notes
the assault today increased as Nouri attempts to 'retake' Falluja (when
was Nouri ever in charge of Falluja?). Tawfeeq notes, "About 700,000
people live in Falluja, a Sunni city in Anbar province
west of Baghdad. More than 300 people, most of whom are civilians, have
been killed in Falluja since the beginning of the year." NINA notes the military's shelling of residential neighborhoods today left 7 civilians dead and thirteen more injured. Wael Grace (Al Mada) speaks
to Falluja General Hospital's Dr. Ahmed Chami who states 310 civilians
have been killed and 1322 injured in the last months from the military
shelling residential neighborhoods.

Friday began with news of an assault. Press TV reported, "Iraqi army and tribal fighters
have launched an operation to retake militant-held areas in the city of
Fallujah in Anbar province." JC Finley (UPI) puts it this way, "Iraq's Ministry of Defense announced
Friday that a full-scale military operation is underway in the embattled
Sunni city of Fallujah." How'd that turn out for Nouri?

Maybe. But even Nouri may have a difficult time clutching to that alone.

World Tribune reports, "The sources said ISIL led tribal forces in expelling the last bastion of
Iraq Army troops and pro-government militias from the city, located in
the Anbar province." Kitabat notes it was a failed military operation.

Another failure for Nouri. His list of failures continues to grow. He
began his assault on Anbar Province December 30th. He kept avoiding
Falluja. His forces would surround it. But actually entering it?

Nouri was a coward. But a smart coward because he couldn't win by storming the city. AsKitabat notes,
he tried to storm it today. Nouri pretended for weeks and weeks that
he was seeking other means. He wasn't. But he was too chicken to call
for the attack until today. And he was too chicken to go to Falluja.
Remember when he attacked Basra in 2008? He went there. He said, as
commander in chief, it was his duty to be there.

But it's not his duty to be in Falluja for this attack?

Well it's different.

See, in 2008, he went to Basra with US forces to protect him. That's
not a possibility right now for Falluja (though maybe he and Gen Lloyd
Austin can work out something with regards to that).

Iraq War veteran Matt Maupin who was captured April 9, 2004. In a briefs
roundup, March 30th, 2008, in a briefs round up of various news, the Washington Post noted:

The
father of a soldier listed as missing-captured in Iraq since 2004 says
the military has informed him that his son's remains were found in Iraq.Keith
Maupin said that an Army general told him Sunday that DNA was used to
identify the remains of his son, Sgt. Keith Matthew Maupin, who went by
"Matt."Matt Maupin was a 20-year-old private first class when he was
captured April 9, 2004, after his fuel convoy was ambushed west of
Baghdad. Arabic television network al-Jazeera aired a videotape a week
later showing Maupin sitting on the floor surrounded by five masked men
holding automatic rifles.

Today, Amanda Lee Myers (AP) reports
that a trial date has been set in Iraq for next Tuesday for an Iraqi
whom Lt Col Alayne Conway states has "confessed to killing Maupin." An
unnamed Iraqi judge states the confession took place in 2009 and led to a
conviction and sentence of death; however, the conviction's set aside
or reversed as a result of some paperwork issue resulting in the need
for a new trial.

A letter sent last year to Solis by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel,
an independent agency that investigates allegations of administrative
violations of fundraising rules by federal officials, said it began an
inquiry after receiving a complaint that Solis had solicited a donation
from a Labor Department employee. According to the letter, the complaint
alleged that in March 2012, Solis "left a voicemail message on a
subordinate employee's government-issued Blackberry in which you asked
the employee to contribute toward and assist with organizing others to
attend a fundraiser for the President's reelection campaign."Solis has declined to comment on the investigation, but a spokesman
reiterated Friday that she believes she has done nothing wrong.

Followers

About Me

I'm Michael, Mike to my friends. College student working his way through. I'm also Irish-American and The New York Times can kiss my Irish ass. And check out Trina's Kitchen on my links, that's my mother's site.